The most famous Cure fan site, Chain of Flowers, operated somewhat parallel to the Blogspot trend, functioning more as a news hub. However, the Blogspot ecosystem was distinct because it was file-sharing driven. These blogs were often maintained by "super-fans" who curated lists of "must-have" bootlegs.
These sites operated in a legal grey area. While they were technically copyright infringement, they were often tolerated—or at least ignored—by the industry because they catered to a hardcore fanbase that had already purchased the official albums. The ethos was preservation; if a record label wasn't selling a specific 1985 live bootleg, the fans would preserve it themselves.
If you have spent any time traversing the dusty backroads of early internet fandom, you have likely stumbled across the phrase **"The Cure Blogspot."" To the uninitiated, it sounds like a grammatical error or a forgotten URL. But to the legions of devoted followers of the iconic post-punk band The Cure, those three words represent a golden era of digital archiving, obsessive setlist tracking, and the preservation of a subculture that refuses to fade away. the cure blogspot
In an age where music discovery is dominated by algorithm-driven playlists on Spotify and TikTok snippets, the old-school "Blogspot" (Blogger) ecosystem remains a treasure trove. This article explores the history, the significance, and the hidden gems of "The Cure Blogspot"—why these fan-run sites from the late 2000s and early 2010s are still relevant today, and how you can navigate them to find material you won't find anywhere else.
Title: “The ‘Pornography’ Demos – Bleaker Than the Album?”
Date: October 24, 1982 (revisited today)
Content:
“Before the drum machine took over, ‘The Hanging Garden’ had a tin-can echo and Robert’s whispered count-in. Listen to the 4-track demo…”
[Embed: 2-min clip]
“What’s your favorite raw demo? Comment below.” The most famous Cure fan site, Chain of
Before Pinterest, there were Blogspot scans. High-resolution images from NME, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone from 1978 to 1992 are archived here. Seeing a young, scowling Robert Smith in a torn Disintegration shirt next to a review calling them "the only band that matters to the sad kids" is a specific joy.
It is not all perfect. The major frustration of The Cure Blogspot is the RapidShare problem. Most of these blogs were built between 2008 and 2012, using file hosts like Megaupload, RapidShare, and MediaFire (old accounts). Today, legal takedowns and server shutdowns mean that 60% of the links are dead. Title: “The ‘Pornography’ Demos – Bleaker Than the
How to resurrect them:
Following many of the titles in our Wind Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
| Description | Price |
|---|---|
| Rimsky-Korsakov Quintet in Bb [1011-1 w/piano] Item: 26746 |
$28.75 |
The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The first number stands for Flute, the second for Oboe, the third for Clarinet, the fourth for Bassoon, and the fifth (separated from the woodwinds by a dash) is for Horn. Any additional instruments (Piano in this example) are indicated by "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.
This woodwind quartet is for 1 Flute, no Oboe, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Horn and Piano.
Sometimes there are instruments in the ensemble other than those shown above. These are linked to their respective principal instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Whenever this occurs, we will separate the first four digits with commas for clarity. Thus a double reed quartet of 2 oboes, english horn and bassoon will look like this:
Note the "2+1" portion means "2 oboes plus english horn"
Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
Following many of the titles in our Brass Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of five numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
| Description | Price |
|---|---|
| Copland Fanfare for the Common Man [343.01 w/tympani] Item: 02158 |
$14.95 |
The bracketed numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Trumpet, the second for Horn, the third for Trombone, the fourth (separated from the first three by a dot) for Euphonium and the fifth for Tuba. Any additional instruments (Tympani in this example) are indicated by a "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.
Thus, the Copland Fanfare shown above is for 3 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, no Euphonium, 1 Tuba and Tympani. There is no separate number for Bass Trombone, but it can generally be assumed that if there are multiple Trombone parts, the lowest part can/should be performed on Bass Trombone.
Titles listed in our catalog without bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
Following many of the titles in our String Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of four numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:
| Description | Price |
|---|---|
| Atwell Vance's Dance [0220] Item: 32599 |
$8.95 |
These numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Violin, the second for Viola, the third for Cello, and the fourth for Double Bass. Thus, this string quartet is for 2 Violas and 2 Cellos, rather than the usual 2110. Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:
The most famous Cure fan site, Chain of Flowers, operated somewhat parallel to the Blogspot trend, functioning more as a news hub. However, the Blogspot ecosystem was distinct because it was file-sharing driven. These blogs were often maintained by "super-fans" who curated lists of "must-have" bootlegs.
These sites operated in a legal grey area. While they were technically copyright infringement, they were often tolerated—or at least ignored—by the industry because they catered to a hardcore fanbase that had already purchased the official albums. The ethos was preservation; if a record label wasn't selling a specific 1985 live bootleg, the fans would preserve it themselves.
If you have spent any time traversing the dusty backroads of early internet fandom, you have likely stumbled across the phrase **"The Cure Blogspot."" To the uninitiated, it sounds like a grammatical error or a forgotten URL. But to the legions of devoted followers of the iconic post-punk band The Cure, those three words represent a golden era of digital archiving, obsessive setlist tracking, and the preservation of a subculture that refuses to fade away.
In an age where music discovery is dominated by algorithm-driven playlists on Spotify and TikTok snippets, the old-school "Blogspot" (Blogger) ecosystem remains a treasure trove. This article explores the history, the significance, and the hidden gems of "The Cure Blogspot"—why these fan-run sites from the late 2000s and early 2010s are still relevant today, and how you can navigate them to find material you won't find anywhere else.
Title: “The ‘Pornography’ Demos – Bleaker Than the Album?”
Date: October 24, 1982 (revisited today)
Content:
“Before the drum machine took over, ‘The Hanging Garden’ had a tin-can echo and Robert’s whispered count-in. Listen to the 4-track demo…”
[Embed: 2-min clip]
“What’s your favorite raw demo? Comment below.”
Before Pinterest, there were Blogspot scans. High-resolution images from NME, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone from 1978 to 1992 are archived here. Seeing a young, scowling Robert Smith in a torn Disintegration shirt next to a review calling them "the only band that matters to the sad kids" is a specific joy.
It is not all perfect. The major frustration of The Cure Blogspot is the RapidShare problem. Most of these blogs were built between 2008 and 2012, using file hosts like Megaupload, RapidShare, and MediaFire (old accounts). Today, legal takedowns and server shutdowns mean that 60% of the links are dead.
How to resurrect them: